GSP Returns to UFC

Incase you haven’t heard a fan favorite in the sport of MMA has announced his return to the main stage. George St. Pierre has announced that he will be making a come back to UFC after rumors have been circulating about a multiple fight deal that was drawn up for his return. His first fight back is not forecasted to be an easy one for the former champion, as he is scheduled to face of against Michael Bisping for the title of the UFC’s Middleweight division. It is note worthy to mention that GSP has never fought in this heavier weight class. GSP has had one of the most recognizable records in the sport’s history with twenty-five wins and two loses, both loses were avenged later in his career against Matt Hughes and Matt Serra. GSP’s last fight was in November of 2013 where he defended his Welterweight title against Johnny Hendricks in Las Vegas. Many MMA fans are anxiously awaiting the return of this beloved champion with high hopes for a new and further improved GSP under the limelight.

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Long Awaited Title Finally Attained

On March 5th 2016 Miesha Tate stepped into the Octagon once again in an attempt to dethrone the UFC champion of the Women’s Bantamweight Division. Tate, no stranger to the Octagon had been in this position before, faced with an awesome opportunity to earn her title as the division champion against then reigning champion Rhonda Rousey back in December of 2013. Tate’s 2013 attempt at the title ended when Rousey ended the fight in the 3rd round with her signature arm bar submission. Rhonda Rousey had been the undefeated women’s champion in the UFC’s Bantamweight division for two years eight months and had successfully defended her title six times against top-notch competitors, but on November 15th 2015, Rhonda sealed her fate when attempting to go toe to toe and blow for blow with Holly Holms a world class boxer and kickboxer who in her own career had defended her titles eighteen times. Holms knocked the longtime UFC champion”Rowdy” Rhonda Rousey out with a 2nd round head kick. As great of an achievement as this was, it seems it was not meant to last as on March 5th 2016 Holms and Tate met in the Octagon for what promised to be a knock down drag out fight, what happened was unexpected. Spectators saw a hungry Miesha Tate at one corner of the Octagon and what appeared to be a drained Holly Holms in the other. For a champion in the upper echelon of the combat sports, Holms appeared unenthusiastic or even motivated to hold on to her title. She seemed very unsure of herself, placing strikes haphazardly and in lack of better word dormant. The crowd was waiting for a volcanic explosion of raw power and aggression to explode from the champion, but this never happened. In the 5th round of the championship bout Meisha Tate secured a submission via rear naked choke and rightfully claimed her position amongst the UFC’s best. Tate currently has a record of 18 wins and 5 loses in her professional career and is the reigning UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion.

NEWS: Anderson Silva Signs 15 Fight Deal

It was announced last Thursday that former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will continue to delight UFC fans for another fifteen fights as laid out by UFC President Dana White and owner Lorenzo Fertitta. The first of these events will be against Nick Diaz at UFC 183 in January 2015. In addition to this bit of news Silva announced that his business partnership with Nike has officially ended as he picks up a new sponsorship deal with Adidas. Check out his UFC 183 press conference here:

North Florida is New Home of House Of Fame MMA

Exciting news has reached the First Coast. The House Of Fame MMA (HOF) promotion has recently made Jacksonville FL it’s home market. What does that mean? MMA fans in north Florida now have an exciting new promotion to follow and watch locally, a promotion that has some well known UFC fighters competing in it’s ranks. The newly established MMA promotion will feature fighters such as Thiago Alves, Jorge Masvidal, and Hector Lombard. The promotion’s CEO Paris Tsitos has already gained support from many great sponsors for his new sports franchise which consist of many locally based businesses including First Coast Powersports, Mavericks event venue, and Wounded Warrior Project just to name a few. The organization will host it’s inaugural event “A New Dawn” on September 6th 2014 at the Veterans Memorial Arena in downtown Jacksonville with weigh-ins open to the public on September 5th at Lattitude 360.  Visit the promotion’s website at www.houseoffamemma.com. 

Wanderlei Silva out of UFC 175 bout vs Chael Sonnen. Vitor Belfort in?

Last month Chael Sonnen said Wanderlei Silva would try to “weasel out” of their UFC 175 bout and it appears he was right. Today Silva was removed from the fight after missing mandatory exams and failing to apply for a licence to fight in Nevada. To add even more fuel to this story, Sonnen told Fox Sports 1 that Silva “literally ran”, and “slipped out the side door of the gym and never returned” when Nevada State Athletic Commission officials approached him for a random drug test.

So the question became, who would Sonnen face?

Well if you’re the over the top daytime soap opera kind of guy you loved the answer. The guy UFC officials are looking at to replace Silva in the fight, Vitor Belfort. Yes the same Vitor Belfort that was supposed to be in the main event of UFC 173. The same Vitor Belfort that withdrew from his title fight with Chris Weidman after the Nevada State Athletic Commission banned TRT.

Additionally, many media outlets are reporting the Sonnen-Belfort fight will take place at 205 pounds, but the winner will be guaranteed a shot at the middleweight title (185lbs). That title will be on the line in the main event of card as Chris Weidman defends again Lyoto Machida.

Robbie Lawler vs Matt Brown to Headline UFC on FOX 12

We now have a main event for UFC on FOX 12! UFC President Dana White announced on Twitter this afternoon that Matt Brown vs Robbie Lawler will headline the card set for July 26th in San Jose. The winner of the fight will earn a shot at welterweight champion Johny Hendricks.

The card also features Anthony Johnson vs Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Clay Guida vs Dennis Bermudez, and Josh Thomson vs Michael Johnson.

Jones vs Gustafsson II Likely For UFC 177 In August

With Anderson Silva sidelined with an injury and Georges St. Pierre taking time away from the sport, the biggest fight the UFC could make is Jon Jones vs Alexander Gustafsson II. It now appears we have a date for the highly anticipated rematch. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to report that the UFC has targeted August 30th in Las Vegas for the rematch.

According to UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta, only Gustafsson has agreed to the bout so far. Fertitta did say he expects Jones to agree to the fight in the next few weeks.

Gustafsson (16-2) lost a close decision to Jones (20-1) at UFC 165 in September. Both fighters are coming off impressive victories. Gustafsson knocked out Jimi Manuwa on March 8th in a bout in London. While Jones is coming off a one-sided victory over Glover Teixeira at UFC 172.

MMA NEWS: McCAIN RECOGNIZES UFC AS SPORT

In the early days of MMA and the UFC in America it was met with a lot of criticism and opposition. One of the sport’s biggest opposers back in the 1990’s was Senator John McCain. McCain spearheaded an effort to ban all UFC and MMA events in the United States calling it, “human cock fighting.” In a recent UFC documentary where the organization’s history is chronicled there is a segment where John McCain appears and finally gives his seal of approval by stating, “Yes, it’s a sport now, I like the changes and I like what they’ve done.” In the early days when the UFC was first appearing on cable TV and PPV the event was a true tournament style event with practically no safety regulations or rules. This meant no required gloves, no weight classes, and just about everything was allowed from a striking stand point. With the UFC finally achieving a milestone in the organization’s 20th year, being followed by millions of fans world wide, legitimized as a sport by being picked up by major sports networks like FOX, it seems that Senator John MaCain has finally joined the masses and publicly recognized the sport for what it is today. CEO and Chairman of the UFC, Lorenzo Fertita stated, “It’s a story about the business of the UFC over the past 20 years. But it’s also a story about people. Without the guys who step in there and deliver the action in the Octagon, the UFC wouldn’t have become what it’s become.”

RESULTS: UFC VELASQUEZ Vs DOS SANTOS III

MAIN CARD

CAIN VELASQUEZ DEF. JUNIOR DOS SANTOS [TKO R.D. 5]

DANIEL CORMIER DEF. ROY NELSON [UNANIMOUS DECISION ]

GILBERT MELENDEZ DEF. DIEGO SANCHEZ [UNANIMOUS DECISION ]

GABRIEL GONZAGA DEF. SHAWN JORDAN [TKO R.D. 1]

JOHN DODSON DEF. DARRELL MONTAGUE [KO R.D. 1]

UNDERCARD

TIM BOETSCH DEF. C.B. DOLLAWAY [ SPLIT DECISION ]

HECTOR LOMBARD DEF. NATE MARQUARDT [KO R.D. 1]

JESSICA EYE DEF. SARAH KAUFMAN [SPLIT DECISION ]

KJ NOONS DEF. GEORGE SOTIROPOULOS [UNANIMOUS DECISION ]

ADLAN AMAGOV DEF. TJ WALDBURGER [ KO R.D. 1]

TONY FERGUSON DEF. MIKE RIO [SUBMISSION]

ANDRE FILI DEF. JEREMY LARSEN [TKO R.D. 2]

KYOJI HORIGUCHI DEF. DUSTIN PAGUE [TKO  R.D.2]

UFC VELASQUEZ VS DOS SANTOS

RESULTS: UFC Fight Night 29

COMMENTARY:

Last night’s UFC action live from Brazil was a so-so event with many fighters leaving individual match-ups to the hands of the judges. Thiago Silva resembled a hulking lumber jack with his successful attempts at chopping down his opponent Matt Hamill with powerful leg kicks which ultimately wore his opponent down but not before the final bell rang. Both men in this match up appeared extremely exhausted leaving many fans questioning how much preparation these fighters did for their conditioning program prior to the event. It didn’t help much that Thiago Silva came in at two pounds over his target weight for the fight. The main event of the evening was mediocre at best. Damian Maia and Jake Shields pushed the pace just enough to keep the crowd’s boos to a minimum. Intensity was very apparently lacking in this showdown. Due to slightly better striking Shields ended up with the victory in this five round match.

MAIN CARD:

JAKE SHIELDS Def. DEMIAN MAIA [VIA SPLIT DECISION]

DONG HYUN KIM Def. ERICK SILVA [VIA K.O. RD2]

THIAGO SILVA Def. MATT HAMILL [VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION]

FABIO MALDONADO Def. JOEY BELTRAN [ VIA SPLIT DECISION ]

ROUSIMAR PALHARES Def. MIKE PIERCE [VIA SUBMISSION RD.1]

RAPHAEL ASSUNCAO Def. T.J. DILLASHAW [VIA SPLIT DECISION]

IGOR ARAUJO Def. ILDEMAR ALCANTARA [VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION]

YAN CABRAL Def. DAVID MITCHELL [VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION]

CHRIS CARIASO Def. ILIARDE SANTOS [VIA T.K.O. RD.2]

ALAN PATRICK  Def. GARETT WHITELEY [VIA T.K.O. RD.1]

Catch what you missed here: